I had a particularly busy year, with book deadlines and a lot of travel. As a result, my reading rate went down. I reread several of Frank Herbert’sDune novels, and I got a Kindle to take on the road (read Jack McDevitt’sOdyssey as the first book). It’s a wonderful device.

The notable books I read this year were “The Terror” by Dan Simmons — an incredibly researched story of arctic exploration and I was completely engrossed...though the end left me unsatisfied; “Absolution Gap” by Alastair Reynolds, the last book in his Revelation Space trilogy, a very ambitious epic with wonderful ideas, although this one seemed weaker than the first two; “Wolf Star” by R.M. Meluch, an absolute page-turner of military SF, the second book in her series after “The Myriad”...I really loved it; “Child 44” by Tom Rob Smith was an intense and gripping thriller set in Stalinist Russia, and it reminded me very much of “Gorky Park” (one of my all-time favorite novels); “Heaven’s Net Is Wide” by Lian Hearn, a beautifully written and engaging Japanese fantasy, a prequel to a much more extensive fantasy series (I’ll have to check out the rest); “Duma Key” by Stephen King...one of his best novels in years; and finally, in non-fiction, I read Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild”, which was a very disturbing story about a young man who severs all ties with the civilized world and dies out in the wilderness.

ON THE HORIZON FOR KEVIN J. ANDERSON:

In 2009 I have three major books out. In May, there’s “Enemies & Allies” from Morrow, about the first meeting of Superman and Batman, set in the 1950s during the Cold War and the flying saucer craze. Then in June is the first book of my Terra Incognita fantasy trilogy, “The Edge of the World”, my most ambitious and passionate work to date — set in a world like our Age of Discovery, with sailing ships and sea serpents and the Crusades. It’ll be published by Orbit Books. Then in August is “Jessica of Dune” (Tor Books), with Brian Herbert, the direct sequel to “Dune Messiah”.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kevin J. Anderson is the author of more than ninety novels—titles range from Star Wars spin-offs to the Dune prequels and the Saga of Seven Suns original series—with many of them national or international bestsellers. He has won or been nominated for numerous prestigious awards, including the Nebula Award, Bram Stoker Award, the SFX Reader's Choice Award, the American Physics Society's Forum Award, and the New York Times Notable Book. Kevin has also scripted numerous bestselling comics and graphic novels such as Justice Society of America, Star-Jammers, Star Wars, Predator, X-Files, and Star Trek. For more information, please visit the author’s Official Website.